The 97th Georgia high school state basketball tournament begins this weekend with 224 first-round games spanning from Tunnel Hill in northwest Georgia to Brunswick on the coast.
Below is just about everything you’d want to know about it, including the first-round matchups in all seven classifications.
When: The first round will be played Friday and Saturday. Girls games are typically Friday, and boys games Saturday, but the GHSA allows schools with two home games to schedule double-headers when they are practical. Best to check school Web sites or social media for game times.
Where: The first three rounds are played at the home gym of the higher-seeded teams. In the third round, when same-seeded teams can meet for the first time, a coin flip determines the home team. The semifinals (March 2-3) and finals (March 7-10) will be played at neutral sites.
Who: There are 240 boys teams and 240 girls teams in the state tournaments. Classes AA through AAAAAAA have 32-team draws. Class A has 24-team draws. There are only some 450 schools in the GHSA, so most Georgia high schools are represented. Twenty years ago, only 64 boys teams and 64 girls teams made state. The GHSA doubled the sizes of the draws to 32 teams in 1999 and added a fifth classification in 2001. The have only expanded since.
Best boys teams: The No. 1-ranked boys teams are McEachern (AAAAAAA), Langston Hughes (AAAAAA), Warner Robins (AAAAA), Upson-Lee (AAAA), Morgan County (AAA), Laney (AA), St. Francis (A private) and Calhoun County (A public). McEachern is ranked in the top 10 of several national polls but has never won a state title. Neither has Warner Robins. Upson-Lee has won 58 straight games and could hit 63 with another state title. That would tie it for the third-longest boys winning streak in state history.
Best boys players: Seniors E.J. Montgomery of Wheeler and Reggie Perry of Thomasville are 6-foot-9 power forwards who are five-star recruits, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and both star on top-10 teams. Perry has signed with Mississippi State. Montgomery is uncommitted. Among juniors, Newton point guard Ashton Hagans is a five-star recruit. He's committed to Georgia. McEachern has a pair of blue-chippers, junior Isaac Okoro and sophomore Sharife Cooper. McEachern and Hagans' Newton team are major title contenders in the highest class. Langston Hughes small forward Landers Nolley (signed with Virginia Tech)is a player-of-the-year candidate. Westside-Macon small forward Khavon Moore, another top prospect, was lost for the season with a leg injury last month.
Best girls teams: The No. 1-ranked girls teams are Westlake (AAAAAA), Lovejoy (AAAAAA), Buford (AAAAA), Carver-Columbus (AAAA), Greater Atlanta Christian (AAA), Laney (AA), Holy Innocents' (A private) and Telfair County (A public). Westlake has never won a state title while sixth-ranked McEachern has won four straight in the highest class. Lovejoy and Telfair County also have never won state titles. Laney has won 57 straight games.
Best girls players: Six players in the tournament are ranked among the 50 best senior prospects nationally in their graduation years, according to prospectsnation.com. They are No. 7 Olivia Nelson-Ododa of Winder-Barrow (signed with UConn), No. 13 Jenna Brown of Lovett (Stanford), No. 25 Victaria Saxton of Model (South Carolina), No. 38 Brooke Moore of Henry County (Auburn), No. 47 Kaila Hubbard of Holy Innocents' (Georgia). No. 40 Robyn Benton of Class AAA No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian (Auburn) is out with a knee injury. The Prospects National website also ranks St. Francis' Jordan Isaacs at No. 24 among juniors.
Best boys' first-round matchup: Jackson of Atlanta, seeking its first state-playoff victory since the school was known as Southside in 1991, plays at home on Friday against Columbia, the perennial power that won five state titles between 2006 and 2012. Jackson is 24-2 and a No. 1 seed but ranked only No. 10 because of the relative lack of respect for its Fulton County-dominated Region 6-AAAAA. Columbia is 19-8 and a No. 4 seed but ranked No. 5 because of the reputation of its DeKalb County-dominated Region 5-AAAAA.
Other boys games to watch: Three other first-round games match ranked teams. They are No. 8 Creekview at No. 7 Douglas County in AAAAAA, No. 9 Carver-Columbus at No. 10 Mary Persons in AAAA and No. 10 Swainsboro at No. 3 Thomasville in AA. Other games with teams that frequently ranked are Tri-Cities at South Cobb and Lanier at Cambridge in AAAAAA and Collins Hill at Pebblebrook in AAAAAAA.
Best girls' first-round matchup: No. 7 Putnam County travels to No. 6 Model in a Class AA game Friday night that represents the only first-round matchup between ranked teams in any classification. Putnam County (20-4) – a semifinalist in 2014 and 2016 – was ranked No. 2 until suffering two upsets in the Region 8-AA tournament last week. Model (22-3) – a semifinalist in 2017 – is 12-0 since Christmas.
Other girls games to watch: Other games between frequently ranked teams are Stephenson at Heritage-Conyers in AAAAAA, Rome at Flowery Branch in AAAAA and Hart County at East Hall in AAA. And regardless of ranking or sport, any time a state tournament pairs Marist against St. Pius, that's good stuff.
First-time girls: Seven girls teams are in the state tournament for the first time. They are Coahulla Creek, Gordon Central, Islands, Johns Creek, KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, Lanier and Mount de Sales. Most interesting among those is Gordon Central of Calhoun, which opened in 1985. The Trojans entered last week's Region 7-AA tournament seeded No. 7 with a 7-13 record and had to win twice to qualify and did, upsetting third-seeded Armuchee 73-63 in the quarterfinals to seal the deal. Gordon Central plays at Elbert County on Friday night.
First-time boys: Five boys teams are in the state tournament for the first time. They are Grovetown, KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, Drew Charter, Fulton Leadership and Woodville-Tompkins. All began varsity basketball within the past 10 years. Woodville-Tompkins, a technical and career high school that opened in basketball-rich Savannah in 2011, is a threat to win a championship. The Wolverines are 24-3 and ranked No. 5 in the Class A public-school division.
More long waits ended: It's been at least 10 years since girls teams from Lithonia (2002), Union Grove (2006) or Monroe Area (2008) made the state tournament. It's been at least 10 years since boys teams from Jackson (2000), Brooks County (2001), North Springs (2002), Hephzibah (2006) or Brookstone (2005) made it. They're all in.
History-seeking boys: There are 29 boys teams in the tournament that have never won a tournament game, and 22 more that haven't advanced in 10 years. The most interesting of those is Georgia Military College, a prep school in Milledgeville. GMC last won a state tournament game in 1929. The Bulldogs are 0-7 in the state tournament since but are 23-3 this season and ranked No. 9 in the Class A public-school division. They are heavily favored to beat Claxton in a home game. Also watch for Region 2-AA champion Jeff Davis to win its first state-playoff game since 1958 in a home game against Brooks County and for Region 6-AA champion Therrell to win its first since 1982 at home against Heard County.
History-seeking girls: There are 25 girls teams in the tournament that have never won a tournament game, and 30 more that haven't advanced in 10 years. The most interesting of those is Central-Talbotton, a school that some 30 years ago ruled Class A, compiling a 84-1 record while winning three straight state titles with a fabled player named Miriam Walker. The glory years ended in 1986, and Central hasn't won a state-playoff game since. The Hawks have their chance with a home game Friday against Gordon Lee.
Absentee boys: Only one boys team that entered last week's region tournaments with a top-10 ranking failed to get through. That was Windsor Forest of Savannah, ranked No. 8 in Class AAA. The Knights were eliminated and replaced in the state tournament by Beach, a 10-19 team that Windsor had trounced by 40 and 24 points in the regular season. Also, Turner County's boys, a Class A final-four team six times since 2008, failed to qualify for the first time since 2004.
Absentee girls: Forest Park, ranked No. 4 entering last week, was upset by M.L. King 37-36 in the Region 4-AAAAAA tournament and failed to qualify. The Panthers (21-5) had beaten M.L. King 72-30 just the week before. Also finished is Kendrick's streak of 16 state-tournament appearances. The Cherokees of Columbus were Class AA champions with a 29-0 record just four seasons ago but bottomed out at 6-19 this season.
Old faithfuls: Dodge County's girls are in the state playoffs for the 27th straight year. Tift County's boys are in for the 25th straight time. Both are modern GHSA records.
What's next: The second round is Feb. 21-22.
BOYS
Class AAAAAAA
R6 #3 Duluth at R5 #2 West Forsyth
R8 #4 Archer at R7 #1 Norcross
R2 #3 Westlake at R1 #2 Colquitt County
R4 #4 Walton at R3 #1 McEachern
R5 #3 Milton at R6 #2 Mountain View
R7 #4 Central-Gwinnett at R8 #1 Newton
R1 #3 Lowndes at R2 #2 Wheeler
R3 #4 North Cobb at R4 #1 Etowah
R8 #3 South Gwinnett at R7 #2 Meadowcreek
R6 #4 Mill Creek at R5 #1 Lambert
R4 #3 Woodstock at R3 #2 Kennesaw Mountain
R2 #4 Campbell at R1 #1 Tift County
R7 #3 Berkmar at R8 #2 Grayson
R5 #4 South Forsyth atR6 #1 Peachtree Ridge
R3 #3 Hillgrove at R4 #2 Roswell
At-large: Collins Hill at R2 #1 Pebblebrook
Class AAAAAA
R6 #3 Creekview at R5 #2 Douglas County
R8 #4 Apalachee at R7 #1 North Atlanta
R2 #3 Bradwell Institute at R1 #2 Valdosta
R4 #4 Drew at R3 #1 Heritage-Conyers
R5 #3 Alexander at R6 #2 Sprayberry
R7 #4 Pope at R8 #1 Gainesville
R1 #3 Lee County at R2 #2 Richmond Hill
R3 #4 Lakeside-Evans at R4 #1 Stephenson
R8 #3 Lanier at R7 #2 Cambridge
R6 #4 Allatoona at R5 #1 Hughes
R4 #3 Tucker at R3 #2 Grovetown
R2 #4 Effingham County at R1 #1 Coffee
R7 #3 Alpharetta at R8 #2 Dacula
R5 #4 Tri-Cities at R6 #1 South Cobb
R3 #3 Evans at R4 #2 Jonesboro
R1 #4 Northside-Warner Robins at R2 #1 Brunswick
Class AAAAA
R6 #3 North Springs at R5 #2 Southwest DeKalb
R8 #4 Cedar Shoals at R7 #1 Hiram
R2 #3 Wayne County at R1 #2 Harris County
R4 #4 Woodland-Henry at R3 #1 Starr's Mill
R5 #3 Miller Grove at R6 #2 Riverwood
R7 #4 Cass at R8 #1 Buford
R1 #3 Bainbridge at R2 #2 Statesboro
R3 #4 Morrow at R4 #1 Dutchtown
R8 #3 Flowery Branch at R7 #2 Villa Rica
R6 #4 Banneker at R5 #1 Lithonia
R4 #3 Eagle's Landing at R3 #2 McIntosh
R2 #4 Ware County at R1 #1 Warner Robins
R7 #3 Paulding County at R8 #2 Clarke Central
R5 #4 Columbia at R6 #1 Jackson-Atlanta
R3 #3 Fayette County at R4 #2 Stockbridge
R1 #4 Thomas County Central at R2 #1 New Hampstead
Class AAAA
R6 #3 Heritage-Catoosa at R5 #2 Cartersville
R8 #4 Madison County at R7 #1 Blessed Trinity
R2 #3 Spalding at R1 #2 Americus-Sumter
R4 #4 Druid Hills at R3 #1 Baldwin
R5 #3 Troup at R6 #2 Northwest Whitfield
R7 #4 White County at R8 #1 St. Pius
R1 #3 Carver-Columbus at R2 #2 Mary Persons
R3 #4 Hephzibah at R4 #1 Woodward Academy
R8 #3 Stephens County at R7 #2 Marist
R6 #4 Ridgeland at R5 #1 Sandy Creek
R4 #3 Henry County at R3 #2 Burke County
R2 #4 Perry at R1 #1 Westover
R7 #3 West Hall at R8 #2 Jefferson
R5 #4 LaGrange at R6 #1 at LaFayette
R3 #3 Thomson at R4 #2 Salem
R1 #4 Northside-Columbus at R2 #1 Upson-Lee
Class AAA
R6 #3 Sonoraville at R5 #2 Pace Academy
R8 #4 East Jackson at R7 #1 Greater Atlanta Christian
R2 #3 Liberty County at R1 #2 Monroe
R4 #4 Kendrick at R3 #1 Johnson-Savannah
R5 #3 Towers at R6 #2 Bremen
R7 #4 North Hall at R8 #1 Morgan County
R1 #3 Dougherty at R2 #2 Long County
R3 #4 Beach at R4 #1 Central-Macon
R8 #3 Monroe Area at R7 #2 Dawson County
R6 #4 Ringgold at R5 #1 Cedar Grove
R4 #3 Jackson at R3 #2 Jenkins
R2 #4 Pierce County at R1 #1 Cook
R7 #3 East Hall at R8 #2 Hart County
R5 #4 Redan at R6 #1 Calhoun
R3 #3 Islands at R4 #2 Westside-Macon
R1 #4 Crisp County at R2 #1 Tattnall County
Class AA
R6 #3 KIPP Atlanta Collegiate at R5 #2 Jordan
R8 #4 Monticello at R7 #1 Chattooga
R2 #3 Vidalia at R1 #2 Early County
R4 #4 Butler at R3 #1 Washington County
R5 #3 Temple at R6 #2 South Atlanta
R7 #4 Coosa at R8 #1 Banks County
R1 #3 Berrien at R2 #2 Metter
R3 #4 Dodge County at R4 #1 Laney
R8 #3 Putnam County at R7 #2 Rockmart
R6 #4 Hapeville Charter at R5 #1 Spencer
R4 #3 Josey at R3 #2 Dublin
R2 #4 Swainsboro at R1 #1 Thomasville
R7 #3 Pepperell at R8 #2 Elbert County
R5 #4 Heard County at R6 #1 Therrell
R3 #3 Northeast-Macon at R4 #2 Glenn Hills
R1 #4 Brooks County at R2 #1 Jeff Davis
Class A (Private)
#24 Landmark Christian at #9 Lakeview Academy
#8 Holy Innocents' BYE
#17 Mt. Pisgah at #16 Mt. Vernon
#1 Christian Heritage BYE
#21 Fellowship Christian at #12 Darlington
#5 North Cobb Christian BYE
#20 Tallulah Falls at #13 Walker
#4 St. Francis BYE
#23 Whitfield Academy at #10 Stratford Academy
#7 Greenforest Christian BYE
#18 Athens Academy at #15 Wesleyan
#2 Eagle’s Landing Christian BYE
#22 King's Ridge at #11 Savannah Christian
#6 Aquinas BYE
#19 Brookstone at #14 W.D. Mohammed
#3 Prince Avenue Christian BYE
Class A (Public)
#24 Claxton at #9 Georgia Military
#8 Woodville-Tompkins BYE
#17 Marion County at #16 Trion
#1 Calhoun County BYE
#21 Randolph-Clay at #12 Wilcox County
#5 Montgomery County BYE
#20 Fulton Leadership at #13 Treutlen
#4 Lanier County BYE
#23 Washington-Wilkes at #10 Terrell County
#7 Macon County BYE
#18 Hancock Central at #15 Dooly County
#2 Central-Talbotton BYE
#22 Irwin County at #11 Pelham
#6 Manchester BYE
#19 Drew at #14 Clinch County
#3 Wilkinson County BYE
GIRLS
Class AAAAAAA
R6 #3 North Gwinnett at R5 #2 South Forsyth
R8 #4 Archer at R7 #1 Norcross
R2 #3 Pebblebrook at R1 #2 Tift County
R4 #4 Etowah at R3 #1 McEachern
R5 #3 Lambert at R6 #2 Mill Creek
R7 #4 Central Gwinnett at R8 #1 Newton
R1 #3 Colquitt County at R2 #2 Wheeler
R3 #4 North Cobb at R4 #1 Cherokee
R8 #3 Grayson at R7 #2 Brookwood
R6 #4 Mountain View at R5 #1 North Forsyth
R4 #3 Roswell at R3 #2 Hillgrove
R2 #4 Campbell at R1 #1 Lowndes
R7 #3 Parkview at R8 #2 South Gwinnett
R5 #4 West Forsyth at R6 #1 Collins Hill
R3 #3 Marietta at R4 #2 Woodstock
At-large: Camden County at R2 #1 Westlake
Class AAAAAA
R6 #3 Sequoyah at R5 #2 New Manchester
R8 #4 Gainesville at R7 #1 Northview
R2 #3 Brunswick at R1 #2 Coffee
R4 #4 Stephenson at R3 #1 Heritage-Conyers
R5 #3 Alexander at R6 #2 Creekview
R7 #4 Johns Creek at R8 #1 Winder-Barrow
R1 #3 Northside-Warner Robins at R2 #2 Glynn Academy
R3 #4 Lakeside-Evans at R4 #1 Lovejoy
R8 #3 Dacula at R7 #2 Pope
R6 #4 River Ridge at R5 #1 Douglas County
R4 #3 ML King at R3 #2 Greenbrier
R2 #4 Richmond Hill at R1 #1 Valdosta
R7 #3 Alpharetta at R8 #2 Lanier
R5 #4 South Paulding at R6 #1 Harrison
R3 #3 Grovetown at R4 #2 Tucker
R1 #4 Houston County at R2 #1 Bradwell Institute
Class AAAAA
R6 #3 Decatur at R5 #2 Arabia Mountain
R8 #4 Clarke Central at R7 #1 Villa Rica
R2 #3 Statesboro at R1 #2 Bainbridge
R4 #4 Union Grove at R3 #1 Fayette County
R5 #3 Miller Grove at R6 #2 Jackson-Atlanta
R7 #4 Kell at R8 #1 Buford
R1 #3 Warner Robins at R2 #2 Wayne County
R3 #4 McIntosh at R4 #1 Eagle's Landing
R8 #3 Cedar Shoals at R7 #2 Carrollton
R6 #4 Riverwood at R5 #1 Southwest DeKalb
R4 #3 Woodland-Stockbridge at R3 #2 Starr's Mill
R2 #4 South Effingham at R1 #1 Harris County
R7 #3 Rome at R8 #2 Flowery Branch
R5 #4 Chamblee at R6 #1 Lithia Springs
R3 #3 Griffin at R4 #2 Dutchtown
R1 #4 Veterans at R2 #1 Ware County
Class AAAA
R6 #3 Heritage-Ringgold at R5 #2 LaGrange
R8 #4 St. Pius at R7 #1 Marist
R2 #3 Perry at R1 #2 Americus-Sumter
R4 #4 North Clayton at R3 #1 Burke County
R5 #3 Troup County at R6 #2 Pickens
R7 #4 Chestatee at R8 #1 Jefferson
R1 #3 Westover at R2 #2 Upson-Lee
R3 #4 Thomson at R4 #1 Henry County
R8 #3 North Oconee at R7 #2 White County
R6 #4 Gilmer at R5 #1 Sandy Creek
R4 #3 Woodward Academy at R3 #2 Baldwin
R2 #4 West Laurens at R1 #1 Carver-Columbus
R7 #3 West Hall at R8 #2 Madison County
R5 #4 Central-Carroll at R6 #1 Northwest Whitfield
R3 #3 Cross Creek at R4 #2 Luella
R1 #4 Shaw at R2 #1 Spalding
Class AAA
R6 #3 Coahulla Creek at R5 #2 Pace Academy
R8 #4 Monroe Area at R7 #1 Greater Atlanta Christian
R2 #3 Long County at R1 #2 Cook
R4 #4 Pike County at R3 #1 Beach
R5 #3 Cedar Grove at R6 #2 Sonoraville
R7 #4 Dawson County at R8 #1 Franklin County
R1 #3 Dougherty at R2 #2 Pierce County
R3 #4 Islands at R4 #1 Peach County
R8 #3 Hart County at R7 #2 East Hall
R6 #4 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at R5 #1 Lovett
R4 #3 Rutland at R3 #2 Johnson-Savannah
R2 #4 Liberty County at R1 #1 Monroe
R7 #3 North Hall at R8 #2 Morgan County
R5 #4 Stone Mountain at R6 #1 Haralson County
R3 #3 Jenkins at R4 #2 Central-Macon
R1 #4 Worth County at R2 #1 Tattnall County
Class AA
R6 #3 South Atlanta at R5 #2 Callaway
R8 #4 Putnam County at R7 #1 Model
R2 #3 St. Vincent's at R1 #2 Early County
R4 #4 Jefferson County at R3 #1 Dodge County
R5 #3 Heard County at R6 #2 KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
R7 #4 Pepperell at R8 #1 Banks County
R1 #3 Thomasville at R2 #2 Swainsboro
R3 #4 Northeast-Macon at R4 #1 Laney
R8 #3 Rabun County at R7 #2 Rockmart
R6 #4 Therrell at R5 #1 Lamar County
R4 #3 Butler at R3 #2 Washington County
R2 #4 Bryan County at R1 #1 Fitzgerald
R7 #3 Gordon Central at R8 #2 Elbert County
R5 #4 Spencer at R6 #1 Douglass
R3 #3 Bleckley County at R4 #2 Josey
R1 #4 Brooks County at R2 #1 Metter
Class A (Public)
#24 Echols County at #9 Georgia Military
#8 Bowdon BYE
#17 Calhoun County at #16 Quitman County
#1 Telfair County BYE
#21 Greene County at #12 Woodville-Tompkins
#5 Wheeler County BYE
#20 Manchester at #13 Turner County
#4 Greenville BYE
#23 Mitchell County at #10 Macon County
#7 Wilcox County BYE
#18 Washington-Wilkes at #15 Taylor County
#2 Terrell County BYE
#22 Glascock County at #11 Emanuel County Institute
#6 Pelham BYE
#19 Gordon Lee at #14 Central-Talbotton
#3 Marion County BYE
Class A (Private)
#24 Darlington at #9 Athens Academy
#8 Christian Heritage BYE
#17 Savannah Christian at #16 Fellowship Christian
#1 Holy Innocents' BYE
#21 Mount de Sales at #12 Pinecrest Academy
#5 Prince Avenue Christian BYE
#20 George Walton at #13 Landmark Christian
#4 Stratford Academy BYE
#23 Greenforest Christian at #10 Paideia
#7 Our Lady of Mercy BYE
#18 Galloway at #15 Lakeview Academy
#2 St. Francis BYE
#22 Mount Paran Christian at #11 Eagle’s Landing Christian
#6 Wesleyan BYE
#19 Tattnall Square at #14 Savannah Country Day
#3 Calvary Day BYE
